Archive for
December 4th, 2007

The Minnesota Timberwolves announced today that head coach Randy Wittman will miss tonight’s game against the L.A. Lakers at Target Center as he prepares for back surgery. Wittman is scheduled to undergo back surgery tomorrow (Wednesday, Dec. 5). A timetable for his return to the sidelines will be set following the operation. In Wittman’s absence, Wolves assistant coach Jerry Sichting will assume the head coaching duties.

“This is a situation that has been progressively getting worse,” Wittman said. “The doctors said that in order to coach the remainder of the year, that it would be in my best interest to have the back surgery as soon as possible. I wish I could be out there tonight, but I know Jerry and the coaching staff will do a great job.”

Years after many expected, the Philadelphia 76ers have finally fired general manager Billy King, and have replaced him with Ed Stefanski, who had been the Nets general manager for the last nine seasons.

King seemed to be content building the 76ers around players that are nice, but not true building blocks. Allen Iverson was never really surrounded with anything close to top talent, and the current Sixers basically have to build around Andre Iguodala, who is a budding star but isn’t expected to ever be a top-tier superstar.

The team is in full rebuild mode — or at least they should be — and Stefanski is a good hire.

Check the regular non-blog portion of InsideHoops.com for more details about this news.

Charlotte Bobcats General Manager Rod Higgins announced today that the team has extended an offer sheet to restricted free agent Anderson Varejao.

In accordance with the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, Varejao’s former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, will have seven days to decide whether to match the offer.

“Anderson has established himself as a very good young player in this league,” said Higgins. “We look forward to the opportunity to add him to the core of our franchise as we continue to grow and improve.”